


Unbreakable

by DobbyRocksSocks



Series: WinterIron [15]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Apocalypse, F/M, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, M/M, Most pairings are minor, Protective James "Rhodey" Rhodes, So many tropes, Soulmates, There is so much friendship fluff here, Wings, so much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-07 22:08:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20471174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DobbyRocksSocks/pseuds/DobbyRocksSocks
Summary: When James first met Tony Stark, he had been a socially awkward fourteen year old child at a school meant for those almost out of their teens. Fifteen years later, and not much has changed. Except, you know, the end of the world stuff. That's pretty new.





	Unbreakable

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DarkAngelOfSorrowReturns](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkAngelOfSorrowReturns/gifts).

> Written for my lovely ‘weirdness-enabling’ wife, Angel. I love you, I hope you enjoy this mess :P

When James first met Tony Stark, he had been a socially awkward fourteen year old child at a school meant for those almost out of their teens. MIT hadn’t been ready for the kid, and honestly, as smart as he was, Tony wasn’t ready for MIT. 

James had been offered a private room, rather than sharing with Tony, but he’d waved the offer off. Someone had to look after him, and he had a feeling that nobody else would. 

Besides, something about the scrawny kid brought out the protective side of James. 

That was fifteen years ago, and he’d never regretted his decision. Not once. 

… 

“Honeybear! I found food!” Tony called. 

When James rounded the corner, he found Tony looking over his shoulder for him, a wide smile on his face. 

“Oh, good find,” James replied, when he saw the many tins and boxes in the small back room of the long abandoned shop. 

“Told you it was a good idea to stop here,” Tony said, smug little shit. James cuffed the back of his head gently. 

He was always gentle with Tony, probably because so few people had been. They heard his name, saw his face, realised who he was and seemed to think that they could walk all over him. It didn’t help, of course, that Tony let them, in the hopes of finding that one person that would love him. 

He didn’t seem to realise that he’d already found that person in James. Just because it wasn’t romantic love between them, didn’t mean it was anything less than unconditional. Nobody had ever understood the bond between them; not even Tony, really. 

People saw the wings sprouting out of people’s backs when they found their soulmates and automatically came to the assumption that that was the only bond that really mattered. 

Tony frowned at him. “That’s abuse!” 

“Uh huh. You gonna help me stack this food, or what?” James asked, nudging Tony out of the way. 

Tony nodded, and between them, they managed to put all of the food into their two rucksacks. James nodded at the window when they were done. “It’s getting late, we should head back before it gets dark out.” 

“Bleh, I don’t wanna walk,” Tony complained, though he pulled the rucksack on his back to show willing. 

James could only sympathise with him. 

“Hold the door,” he told Tony, tugging the gun from the back of his pants. Tony rolled his eyes—the same way he always did—but did as he was told. James checked the street carefully, before he nodded and Tony followed him from the shop. 

“You know, we really should start looking at finding other people,” Tony said thoughtfully as they walked. “Can’t start a new civilisation with just the two of us, Sour Patch.” 

“Sure we can. At least then, we’ll know there’s no idiots.” 

Tony snorted. “Ever since this apocalypse-y end of the world nonsense, you’ve been even less sociable than me, and I didn’t think that was possible.” 

“Never know who’s out to get you when the end of the world just happened,” James replied with a shrug. “I don’t trust anyone anywhere near you.” 

“You’re so protective, oh my god.” 

James snorted. “Of course I am. You’re mine. You’ve been mine since you were fourteen and you’ll be mine until the end of our lives. You  _ know  _ this, Tones.” 

“Until you sprout wings, you mean. It’ll happen, Rhodey. You’re too great to not have a soulmate out there.” 

James slowed and levelled a serious look at Tony. “Hey. I made my choice a long time ago and I’m  _ never  _ gonna leave you.” 

A faint blush coloured Tony’s cheeks and he looked away. He’d always been allergic to emotions. They walked in silence for a while before they slipped through the hedges. Another mile through the forest, and they’d be back in the wood cabin they’d claimed as their safe haven. 

James was looking forward to a decent meal and his bed. It had been a long day. 

… 

The end of the world hadn’t happened with much fanfare. A leaked virus, and suddenly the corpses were piling up left and right worldwide. They still didn’t know what had caused the leak, though there were rumours of a German scientist named Zemo. 

James had no idea what he’d been trying to do, nor did he really care. There were pockets of survivors of course, people who had bunkered down at the first signs of danger, like he and Tony had done. Or rather, like James had done with a screaming and kicking Tony pulled along for the ride. 

It had been almost four months since they’d braved the streets again. They’d had little choice, when their food and water supply had run almost dry, and though James was loathe to admit it, Tony was correct that they should probably start looking for other survivors. 

They’d run across a few groups over the four months, but none of them had even slightly measured up to the standard of people that James would allow anywhere near Tony. 

Hopefully, one day soon, they’d meet up with people who were slightly more than the degenerate morons they’d run across so far. 

… 

“Rhodey!” Tony hissed. “Rhodey, there’s people outside.” 

James opened his eyes immediately to look at Tony, who was sitting at the bedroom window, looking through the tiny gap in the worn curtains. 

“How many?” He asked, picking his gun up off the bedside table. 

“Um, I can see five, no six. Six people.” 

Sighing, James nodded and sat up, pulling his boots on. 

“Probably don’t go in all guns blazing,” Tony said, watching him. “They  _ might  _ be decent people.” 

“Decent people don’t wander around before the sun is even fully up,” James replied flatly. “I haven’t even had coffee yet. What kind of a decent person calls around before we’ve even had coffee?”

“Um, the kind of people that are probably looking for somewhere safe to stay,” Tony pointed out, following James from the room. 

“Yeah, well, there’s no room at the inn.” 

James opened the door of the cabin, holding it close so that Tony couldn’t slip past him. He was like a curious child a lot of the time. 

“Hello?” one of the newcomers said, seeing the light from the gap in the doorway. “Um. Hi?” 

“Who are you?” James asked, staring at them. There were seven people, not six, two females and five males. It was enough to make James’ adrenaline spike. 

“I’m Steve. These are my friends. We were just looking for somewhere to rest, but it’s fine. Really, we’re not looking for trouble, we’ll keep moving on.” 

“Oh my god, he’s trying to actually kill me,” a voice muttered behind them. 

Then a second hissed, “Just ask if we can stay for a few days, dumbass.” 

Even in the dim light, James could see Steve was flushing when he turned back from glaring at his friends. 

“Do you know if there are any empty buildings nearby that we could—” 

“Oh my god, Sour Patch,” Tony complained forcing the door open as he ducked under James’ arm. “Just let them in.” 

“Tony,” James hissed, trying to tug his friend back, but Tony was having none of it. 

“Psh, psh,” he said, waving James off. “Let them in.” 

James looked over the group and then back at Tony. “If they turn out to be killers, I’m not gonna save your ass, you hear me?” 

Steve was stumbling over, “um, we’re not,” while Tony just chuckled and replied, “Yeah, you will.” 

“Fine, fine, come on in,” James said, shaking his head as he opened the door. “I need coffee so much. Tony, go make me coffee, I think I deserve it.” 

“You guys have coffee? Really? Can I like, just smell it?” one of the men asked, as they all trooped inside after Tony and James. 

Five minutes later, the newcomers were all crowded around the small dining table in the kitchen, while Tony perched on the counter, and James stood beside him. Tony had made coffee for all of them, and the newcomers seemed to be enjoying just the scent of it if the way they kept surreptitiously smelling their cups while they waited for it to cool was anything to go by. 

Now that he could see them all properly, James realised that only two of them had wings, the rest of them as featherless as James and Tony. Steve and one of the other men had white wings, tipped with copper and grey feathers. 

“Err, introductions then,” Steve said, looking at his group. “You already know I’m Steve. That’s Sam, my soulmate” he added, pointing to the other man with wings. Pointing to the others in time, he said, “That’s Clint, Natasha, Bucky, Bruce and that’s Carol.” 

James nodded. “I’m James, and this is Tony.” 

“Where are you all from?” Tony asked, looking eager for information. 

“Brooklyn for me and Buck. Washington for Sam, Bruce and Carol, and Clint and Nat lived in New York. We all found each other by accident mostly, but we make a good team so we decided to stick together.” 

James opened his mouth to speak, but Tony hushed him. “Don’t say anything, Honeybear. Remember your karma. Where were y’all heading?” 

Clint was staring at Tony with awe and amusement, and James  _ didn’t like it.  _

“We’re looking for somewhere to settle,” Carol answered. “Somewhere that we can start rebuilding, hopefully find more people. We can’t keep wandering forever, can we?” 

Tony nodded. “Makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it, Sour Patch?” 

James just growled wordlessly at the sarcastic question. 

“Well, you might have noticed that this cabin is kinda tiny,” Tony said, waving his hand around. “But we have lots of blankets and sleeping bags, so y’all can commandeer the living room if you don’t mind puppy piling.” 

“That would be fantastic,” Sam said. “Thank you. It’ll be nice to sleep somewhere where I don’t have tree roots poking me in the ass.” 

“You think that’s what’s poking you,” Bucky muttered, grinning as he glanced at the fresh blush covering Steve’s cheeks, and Tony set off into peals of laughter. 

“I like him, James. Can we keep him?” 

James just rolled his eyes. “Go and get the blankets,” he said instead. “They’re all—” 

“In the cupboard in the bedroom, I know, Mom. I put them there.” 

“Just go and get them, you pain in the ass.” 

Tony stuck his tongue out at James but nodded. James waited until Tony was out of the room before he levelled the others with a glare. 

“You’re here because Tony wants you here. Any of you lay a finger on him, or do anything to upset him, and I’ll shoot you before you can blink. We clear?” 

They all seemed slightly taken aback, apart from Natasha, who was smiling slightly as though she approved of the threat. Weirdo. 

“We’re really not here to try and hurt you guys,” Steve said quietly. “None of us mean you or Tony any harm.” 

“You’ll forgive me for waiting to see that for myself,” James replied flatly. “Or you won’t forgive me, I don’t really care.”

“That is Tony Stark, right?” Clint asked, nodding to the stairs. “Or am I just completely addled these days?” 

“Both,” Natasha replied. 

“Does it matter if it is?” James asked, raising his eyebrows. 

“No, just… cool, right? He invented Bucky’s arm and all.” 

James’ eyes caught the way Bucky’s left arm flexed slightly. He hadn’t realised it was a prosthesis, with him not taking his coat off, but Tony’s  _ were  _ the best. James thought that Bucky must have been a soldier, given most of the people in receipt of Tony’s prosthetics had been before the virus struck. 

“Platypus, help me,” Tony called, a whine in his voice. “There’s so many blankets! Why do we have so many blankets?” 

James rolled his eyes, ignoring the amused snorts at the nickname as he put his cup on the counter and went to help Tony. 

Little pest. 

… 

A week passed before James felt comfortable leaving the cabin without Tony, despite Tony’s protests that he’d be absolutely fine, oh my god, stop worrying. 

Their cabin was uncomfortably full with nine bodies in it, and since Tony seemed rather  _ taken  _ with their new friends, James knew that they’d need somewhere bigger. With Steve, Sam and Clint, he set out to find somewhere. 

They were gone for three days, and by the time they returned (victorious of course) he was practically vibrating with the need to check that Tony was okay. Before, he could just call him daily—multiple times a day, who was he kidding—to make sure he was okay, but when the world had fallen, so had the technology. 

Even for a genius like Tony, there was only so much could be done, and walkie-talkies only held with so much distance. 

He opened the door and walked into the cabin, not bothering to wait for the others. 

“You really think you can make them work?” 

“Of course I can,” Tony replied. “It’s just a matter of time before—Sour Patch! You’re home!” 

Tony made grabby hands for his best friend and James hugged him tightly, before he held him at arm's length, checking him over. 

“Are we sure that they’re  _ just  _ friends,” he heard Bucky ask Clint across the room. 

“They’re not soulmates, no wings,” Clint replied, shrugging. 

“But we do have ears,” Tony said, rolling his eyes. “Our bond is deep and unique and you won’t understand it so don’t even try. But no, we’re not… together. In the romantic sense.” 

“But Tony is mine,” James reiterated slowly, eyes on Bucky. 

The other man had the good sense to blush and look down, but James knew infatuation when he saw it. Tony pulled out of his arms and returned to his seat at the table with Bruce. Moment’s later Clint joined them when he heard Tony talking about a weapon he’d made a couple of months previous out of scrap pieces. 

“Your ideas are intriguing to me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter,” Clint said, eyes wide with wonder. “You made  _ that  _ out of  _ scrap. _ ”

James chuckled, because these people really had no idea. “Tones, we’re gonna pack up tonight, okay? We found somewhere new.” 

“Is it nice?” Tony asked, looking up at James. 

“We can make it nice. More importantly, it’s bigger. There’s more room and, bonus points, it’s right by what used to be a metalworks. I’m sure there will be scraps in there for you to play with.” 

Tony grinned. “Let’s move our asses then.” 

… 

It turned out that the newcomers really did work well as a team. James wasn’t sure if he and Tony were a part of that team yet, but teamwork definitely got the cabin packed up quickly. 

Of course, that didn’t mean Tony didn’t have any accidents, because that would take much more than teamwork. He stumbled on the landing, and almost knocked James down the stairs. 

“Oops?” 

“Uh huh. You’re a bloody menace.” 

“I will kill you by accident eventually. We’ve been saying that for years,” Tony said, shaking his head as he handed over the blankets. 

“When you’re right, you’re right.” 

They stayed another night at the cabin, because it was a fair walk and James wasn’t eager to do it at night, and set off early the following morning. 

Tony still walked beside James, but this time, he spent at least half of the walk talking to Bucky, on his other side, while James was quickly engaged by Carol. She’d been air-force, but a different place than James, and it was nice to have someone who understood his past.

Their hands brushed together as they swapped bags, but James thought little of it, and later, when he felt a twinge in his back, he put it down to the weight he was carrying and the fact that he’d been carrying it for  _ hours.  _

“Oh my god, this is perfect,” Tony muttered, as they walked up to the small abandoned factory. They explored the place, claiming rooms as they went. Tony and James claimed one together—like James would have it any other way—and unpacked the goodies between them. 

“Is there working plumbing?” Tony asked. 

James raised a hand and wobbled it side to side. “Sort of. No hot water, but there’s a fully working bathroom and there is still water. 

“So we’re still taking cold baths, is that what you’re telling me?” 

“Unless you wanna heat up pan after pan of water on a fire, that’s what I’m telling you, yeah.” 

Tony wrinkled his nose. “I don’t got time for that, Honeybear.” 

James chuckled and stripped his shirt of, turning his back to Tony. 

“Holy fuck,” Tony gasped. “James… you’ve got…” 

He cut off and James frowned when he turned. “What’s wrong?” 

Tony dug into a bag until he found a carefully wrapped mirror, and held it up. “Wings, James. You’re sprouting.” 

James stared at the mirror over his shoulder, looking at his shoulder blades. Tony wasn’t wrong, and the only person he’d— 

“It has to be Carol,” he muttered. 

Tony nodded, smiling sadly. “Congratulations.” 

“Hey, hey, no, none of that,” James said, shaking his head. “One thing I said that I would never do was abandon you. You remember that, right? We made an agreement, Tones. You and me, forever.” 

“But she’s your soulmate though.” 

“You’ve always been more than that,” James promised. “What we have is unbreakable, okay?” 

Tony looked down with shame. “Sorry. This isn’t about me, I didn’t—” 

“I’m always about you, and if she really is meant for me, she’ll understand that you’re a part of me, yeah?” 

Tony nodded. “I guess so. You should… go speak to her.” 

“Tony—” 

“I’m fine, I promise. You really should go and speak to her though. This is… it’s a big deal, you know that.” 

James sighed but nodded, pulling a clean t-shirt on. “Yeah, I know. You’ll be okay?” 

“I’m going to go and find someone—probably Clint—to help me unpack my scraps. I’ll be fine. Go find Carol.” 

James walked towards the door, but he couldn’t resist one final look over his shoulder at Tony. Tony seemed to be expecting it—experience, obviously—and he smiled at him. 

“Your wings are going to be majestic,” Tony said, waving him on. “The two of you are too hot for them to be anything else.”

James rolled his eyes and left the room to hunt for Carol. He wondered if she even knew yet.

… 

Over the following few weeks, it seemed that James didn’t see much of Tony, and he didn’t like it. Sure, he was spending quite a lot of time with Carol, and Tony seemed to be spending quite a lot of time with Clint, Natasha and Bucky, but that didn’t mean that James didn’t miss Tony. 

Making a decision, he told Carol that he’d be out for the day, and went to hunt down his best friend. He didn’t expect Tony to come running down the corridor towards him like the hounds of hell were on his heels. 

“Tones, Tones, slow down,” he said, catching Tony around the waist. “What happened? Who do I need to kill?” 

Tony laughed wetly and sagged into James’ embrace. “He kissed me,” he whispered. “Bucky kissed me.” 

“I’m gonna dead him,” James said firmly, releasing his hold on Tony. 

“No! No, don’t… I like him, James. Really, really like him.” 

“Okay…” James tugged Tony close again. “Then what’s the problem?” 

“I, uh. I kinda run away.” 

Chuckling, James shook his head. “Of course you did. You’re still that socially awkward nerd you were back at MIT, aren’t you?” 

Tony nodded miserably. “So now, he probably hates me and my back is itching and I’m scared to look at it.” 

James blinked. “Your… your back is itching.” 

Moving quickly, James hustled Tony to their shared room and helped him pull his shirt off. Sure enough, on his shoulder blades, wings were sprouting. 

“Tones… you found your mate.” 

“But he probably hates me,” Tony replied, rubbing a hand through his already messy hair. “Because I kissed him back and then I run away.” 

“He doesn’t hate you,” James said, shaking his head. “But you know I’m gonna have to go scare the living daylights out of him now, right? It’s the principle of it.” 

“James, no!” 

“James, yes. I’ll go see him and make sure he doesn’t hate you okay? And then I’ll send him to come tell you himself.” 

“Promise you won’t scare him too much?” 

“I promise that if has anything about him at all, he won’t let me scare him away,” James countered. “Go and convince Steve to boil some hot water for you and take a bath and  _ relax. _ ”

“Love you, Sour Patch.” 

“I love you too.” 

… 

“I was waiting for you,” Bucky said, nodding to the freshly brewed coffee. “Figured you’d be here soon.” 

“I hope this isn’t an attempt to butter me up,” James replied, raising his eyebrows as he picked up the mug.” 

“Not even slightly,” Bucky replied. He’d taken his shirt off—Tony must have been playing with his arm again—and James could see the scars around the baseplate. It looked awful. James knew he’d been through a lot though, and those scars, the same as Tony’s scars, the same as James’ own, were a reminder that he was still alive. Still fighting. 

The two of them had had a few conversations over the last few weeks, and admittedly, James thought he wasn’t the worst choice for Tony. He wasn’t good enough, obviously, nobody ever would be, but he was strong. 

“You’re his soulmate,” James said after a moment. “And he’ll never admit it, but you scare him. Tony’s been hurt by a lot of people who he thought he could trust. When you kissed him… he was scared. And of course now, he’s scared that you hate him for running away.” 

“I couldn’t hate him,” Bucky replied quietly. “He’s so… he’s so  _ Tony.  _ He’s so smart, and yet, he’s like a curious child in a lot of ways, and he’s endlessly adorable. I love him, I don’t care if it’s too soon to say that.” 

James nodded approvingly. 

“I told him to go and convince Steve to boil the water for a bath for him, and undoubtedly Steve is doing it because nobody can say no to those puppy eyes, so give him a while to relax, okay. Then go tell him exactly what you just told me.” 

“You know,” Bucky said, tilting his head to the side. “I thought you were going to give me the world’s harshest shovel talk.” 

James smiled slightly. “I don’t think I really need to tell you what will happen if you hurt him, do I?” 

Bucky shivered slightly. “No. No you do not. But I won’t, you know? Hurt him I mean. I won’t.” 

“I know.” 

…

**Epilogue**

… 

Rebuilding the world wasn’t an easy task. 

Of course, it would take decades, possibly even centuries to fully rebuild, but as the years passed them by, they slowly gathered momentum. 

James, Tony and their team—because they were a team, it was undeniable—kept to themselves. They helped, but they always came home to their abandoned warehouse at the end of the day, and they were happy with it that way. 

They gained a few new members, as Bruce and then Clint found their soulmates. Pepper Potts, Bruce’s other half, was Tony’s new favourite, apparently, though James just rolled his eyes every time he heard it. As if anyone would ever take his place. 

Natasha maintained that she didn’t  _ want  _ a soulmate, but James was relatively sure that she was happy as she was with Clint and his own soulmate, Phil. There was something between the three of them that was just… electric. 

And Tony… Tony was practically blissful all the time. He and Bucky went from strength to strength, and their wings rivalled Sam and Steve’s in length and width, though the red and gold definitely outstripped them in vibrance. 

It made sense. 

Sam and Steve were very understated in their love, whilst Bucky and Tony were anything but. 

It was gross to witness, but James wouldn’t have it any other way. His own wings were somewhere in the middle of the others, muted but pretty, in shades of brown and cream. Carol liked them, and that was all that mattered. 

They were happy, and oddly, James found himself thankful for the ‘end of the world’. 

He doubted their paths would have all crossed if it hadn’t happened, and that… that would have been the real tragedy. 

  
  
  



End file.
